Heishanoolithusis anoogenusofElongatoolithidfossil eggfrom theShahai FormationinLiaoning.It is known only from seven eggshell fragments. It is most notable for having a very thin eggshell (1.2-1.3 mm thick), the dense covering of nodes on the eggshell surface, and for its relatively thin mammilary layer (making up only one eighth of the eggshell thickness).[1]While no remains ofHeishanoolithushave been associated with skeletal remains, strong evidence links Elongatoolithid eggs toOviraptorosaurs.[2]
Heishanoolithus Temporal range:
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Egg fossil classification | |
Basic shell type: | Ornithoid |
Morphotype: | Ornithoid-ratite |
Oofamily: | †Elongatoolithidae |
Oogenus: | †Heishanoolithus Zhao and Zhao, 1999 |
Oospecies | |
References
edit- ^Zhao H. and Zhao Z. (1999) "A New Form of Elongatoolithid Dinosaur Eggs from the Lower Cretaceous Shahai Formation of Heishan, Liaoning Province."Vertebrata PalAsiatica,37(4): 278-284.
- ^Simon, D. J. (2014). "Giant Dinosaur (theropod) Eggs of the Oogenus Macroelongatoolithus (Elongatoolithidae) from Southeastern Idaho: Taxonomic, Paleobiogeographic, and Reproductive Implications.Archived2016-03-04 at theWayback Machine"(Doctoral dissertation, Montana State University, Bozeman).